


Pack

by Delicate_Doll



Series: Trials and Tribulations [1]
Category: Hiveswap
Genre: Blood, Gen, Hiveswap: Friendsim, Imperial Drones (Homestuck), Lockdowns, Minor Character Death, Multi, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 17:30:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20429756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delicate_Doll/pseuds/Delicate_Doll
Summary: MC is out and about, and this adventure in particular leads them back to the courthouse. Big gathering places are a little nerve-wracking, but they've racked up quite a few friends here-- it's perfectly safe! Except that's never the way the story goes, is it?





	Pack

Alternia life is rough. Rough on your bones for sure, rough on the ol' mental health definitely, rough on literally everything else you could name. Even on days like today, where you haven't done much of anything, you feel it all over. Were you this high stress on Earth? Is it Alternias fault you feel exhausted at the best of times, absolutely pathetic at the worst? The planet certainly can't be _good_ for you in the long term (or the short-run says your busted up ribs, your scraped up knees), but you're not sure if it's fair to dump the entirety of the blame on it.

You hear a ping.

Are Alternians actually adapted to this crap, or are just better at coping than you-- one of life's great mysteries. The ping politely pings at you again. A lot of them are sort of loners from what you've seen, having one or two... you want to say friends, but that feels wrong. Having one or two other contacts maybe. Is that because they're just not that sociable as a species, or because large numbers of them normally end in some kind of carnage?

The memory of Marvus's show helpfully pops into your head, a mass of chaos and blood, the sound of thousands screaming in pain, in fear, in adoration deafening you, making your head swirl. You were... you were in a weird headspace at the time, and hardly registered the carnage, but now the memory makes you feel sick. He's your friend with the highest body count for sure, and you don't know how to feel about that.

The ping pings again, and since you're looking for a way out of your thoughts anyway you finally give it your attention. The ping reveals itself to be your phone-palmhusk-whatever, buzzing with notifications.

**STELSA: GOOD AFTERNOON! I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WERE IN THE GENERAL VICINITY OF THE COURTHOUSE?**

**STELSA: I WAS PLANNING ON VISITING ZIZI FOR LUNCH AND THOUGHT: HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE WE'VE BEEN IN THE COMPANY OF ONE ANOTHER? TOO LONG!**

**STELSA: THERE'S NO PRESSURE AT ALL, AND IF YOU'RE OUT ON YOUR GALAVANTING, FRIENDMAKING WAY, KUDOS! IF NOT THOUGH, WE'D LOVE TO VISIT WITH YOU!**

That seems kind of fantastic actually. The energy needed to go through another misadventure in the name of a new friendship just isn't packed into you right now, and Stelsa and Tyzias are both chill as they go. Categorizing Stelsa as 'chill' feels weird, but you're sorting things on a violence scale here. _That_ for sure is an Alternia thing, you know for a fact you didn't categorize people by how likely you'd die in their presence on Earth.

You text back, saying that you'd love to meet them for lunch and that you'd be leaving soon for the courthouse.

You get an enthusiastic reply back from Stelsa, which is just what you need to get up off your ass and make sure you look like a person before leaving your hideout.

Strange, evershifting height? Check. An endearing blank slate for readers to project themselves onto? Got it. The finest gams in the galaxy? You strike a dumb pose over your makeshift couch. _Absolutely_.

The Alternian night air is a little chilly tonight, but you sorta like it. Despite the gaping holes in several of the walls, your little hideout can get stuffy fast. The courthouse walk is normally a breeze, short and familiar, but you find yourself avoiding the bigger streets, shying off from some sort of commotion. Trolls are hard to handle in groups.

You make a reasonable time despite the detours, and you try and pump yourself up as you scale the steps. The courthouse, despite being packed with aspiring young Alternians, isn't normally that bloody. The main areas at least, what happens in the lecture halls and courtrooms are a mystery to you, a mystery you aren't jumping to solve at that. Your friends have spoken vaguely enough about the procedures, and neither areas suit a delicate flower such as yourself.

You duck a little as you walk past the two drones at the entrance, head low and pace brisk. Not that there aren't drones crawling all over this place anyway, but these two always peak your anxiety. You're immediately soothed, however, by Stelsa waving you down from down the hall.

Not the biggest, not the strongest, but Stelsa has to be one of the sweetest trolls on the whole planet. Which isn't to say she's neither big nor strong, but when thinking of her it's her radiant smile that comes to mind first. A radiant smile she's smiling your way this very second- get your head in the game kid!

Stelsa proves she's more than capable of _dragging_ you into the game, quickly strolling over and taking your hand to haul you in the direction of Tyzias' office. "There you are! I was worried you'd been caught in all the fuss on Main, it's put everyone on edge and you're just so..." She makes a face, equal parts sympathetic, awkward, and fond down at you. "... Danger-prone."

Yeah. That's probably the best word for it.

Tyzias's office is the same its always been, sans the handsome pile of food on her already cluttered desk, which Tyzias herself is already busy sorting through.

"Two wontons, really. Two orders of the soup and two wontons between them, this is anarchy, fuck-" She looks up when the two of you enter, nodding at you in greeting before continuing "Stelsa they did it again, I think I'm gonna lose it-- for real this time." Stelsa hums as she releases your arm, moving to help Tyzias sort through the riches.

"Zizi sweetheart you were the one who wanted to order from the same establishment, I recommended the new one on the square-"

"Their prices are ridiculous and they don't know how to make a decent eggroll we've been over this!"

"You get what you pay for, and it seems to me like you paid for exactly two wontons darling," Stelsa says, handing you a box of... something. You recognize most of the terms they're throwing around, but you definitely don't recognize this. Tyzias seems to catch onto your hesitation.

"It's okay, I made sure to get you the mild this time. Cost me some credit there but you should be fine- aw _dammit_ Stelsa the rangoons are all crushed-"

Not really the answer you were after, but reassuring enough- and Tyzias seems to have a lot on her metaphorical plate right now. She and Stelsa go back and forth for a while as you all settle in, their playful bickering ending in a teasing peck.

You really did need this. Like it or not you feel your best when friendship runs hot through your veins, and the easy domesticity these two have going is a huge relaxant.

You think back to your earlier ponderings of groups and are struck with the realization that technically, you're in one right now. Nausea doesn't make a reappearance, which just leads to more questions.

Okay hotshot, what's got you so at ease? You're situated in one of the most heavily populated buildings in the city, in a small room with two arguing Alternias. Their bickering is playful, but you've seen playful turn vicious more times than you would have thought in your short time on-world. You've never seen either of them do anything really..._ like that_ though.

The word domestic drifts back to the front of your mind. Ignoring the implication that would make everyone else on this back assward planet feral (which really isn't that far off anyway), you like the term. They're a little more domestic than everyone else.

Come to think of it...

You think they all are. In the courthouse you mean! Maybe you don't get world-shatteringly anxious when you come here because there's a good 60% less chance of someone losing it if you bumble into them. You sort of bumble an awful lot, and it _has_ happened, but the poor kids who got bumbled on were either quick to accept your embarrassed apology-- or hiss and leave without much more.

You wonder why that is.

"Wonder why what is?" Tyzias asks, idly chewing on one of the two precious wontons. Were you wondering aloud? Sorta hard to tell.

You ask for real this time, why the hell is everyone in this place as relaxed as they are.

"Relaxed? You're kidding, right? I know for a fact you still know the annoying, the infamous, the sorest motherfucker on this planet-" Tyzias starts, eyes going wide and setting her chopsticks down. "_Tagora Gorjek_."

Stelsa giggles a little, and Tyzias shoots her a look, eyebrows furrowing. "Not like- hey. _Hey._ Look at me. Not like that, he's just a brat I have to deal with on the regular." She gets so animated when Stelsa is near, and you're highly endeared. Even if the source of her animation is ragging on a dear friend, you know it's all in good fun. Or harmless fun maybe. Or just harmless, which is honestly still pretty good for Alternia.

Stelsa scolds Tyzias lightly, saying something about playing nice with coworkers that Tyzias promptly shrugged off, saying it was normal. Which, to be fair in their little group it sort of is.

Tirona filled you in on the rumors surrounding Tyzias, not an hour after you first met the girl, sly and over the back of her hand.

Despite the grudging respect Tyzias says she has for Tagoras work, he's always her go-to to rag on, and they're the only two you've seen get in an actual, heated argument.

Tagora takes any opportunity to speak ill of his coworkers he can, even in places there aren't really opportunities-- though Tegiri seems to be his favorite. 'Idiotic, mouth breathing, oblivious, -A average son of a bitch' still remains your favorite line, even if it's mean spirited.

They all do it, and you still feel all sorts of domestic around them. Well, Stelsa excluded. No one is mean to Stelsa, as it should be.

...Feeling reflective today huh?

You give yourself a good shake and focus in on the now. Tyzias and Stelsa are still talking amicably, and welcome you into the conversation with open arms.

No, you haven't been doing all that much lately.

A couple new friends! You're not sure if they'd know them, but you promise to send their chitter info to check.

Why is the mild option still so _hot_ Jesus Christ almighty-

And so on, until a shrill noise pierces through the air.

On startled instinct your hands press to your ears, trying to block out the ridiculously loud noise. What the hells happening- a tornado drill? Maybe not a drill? The weather was fine on the walk over but you can really never be too sure with-

You're suddenly snatched by the scruff out of that train of thought and promptly shoved under the desk. You start to ask what the fuck exactly, and one of the two girls actually _hiss_ at you-- you actually think it might've been Stelsa based on where it comes from-- and you know somethings wrong.

Tyzias stands by the desk, legs keeping you tucked safe and out of sight underneath, stiff as a board. Though you can't see Stelsa, you don't hear any movement over the (warning? alarm? siren?) from her either. What the _fuck_ is happening.

All at once you hear the si-fi swoosh of the door as it opens, and the noise stops cold.

"Tyzias Entykk, 4th rank legislacerator in training." Tyzias says, voice hard.

"Stelsa Sezyat, visitor" Stelsas voice is significantly softer, with almost a comical gulp near the end, if anything about what's currently happening could be considered funny.

The swoosh swooshes again, and you hear a sigh from both of them.

"Zizi is it-"

"Stelsa, bigger fish," Tyzias says as she gets on one knee, helping you out. Right! So where were you- what the fuck! Tyzias disregards you entirely to pull up your hood and almost as quickly Stelsa is in your space too, fussing and adjusting it over your eyes.

You clear your throat and try again, _ahem_, what the fuck! Hey! Excuse you!

"We're on lockdown okay? We need to go-"

You ask if it's a lockdown why are you leaving, and are bonked gently on the head for the trouble. 

"We need to go to the main common area, _now_ they'll be searching offices c'mon-" You go as quick as your confused, half-asleep limbs let you, Tyzias taking up the front and Stelsa behind with a firm hand resting on your shoulder. "Stick close okay? These things are..." She trailed off for a moment, hand hovering over the door panel. "...These things can be scary. It'll be okay though, I promise."

The door opens, and you find just how scary it really is. The hallways are always busy, but never this _packed_. Trolls are pressed to each wall, everyone terse and getting aggressive. You gulp and will your bumbling tendencies to take the hint and fuck off temporarily. An embarrassed apology won't be enough for these kids, not anymore.

Tyzias in the lead, your little group worms it's way into the herd. It's literally awful. The drones, though in the same posts as always seem a little more menacing, the walls a little tighter, the air in shorter supply. You'd like to say with all the life-threatening, terror-inducing escapades you've walked away from you're cool as a cucumber, but that'd be a lie. You're just as scared as every other kid in this place, minus a way to actually defend yourself. There's not a weapon to be seen, but unarmed quit meaning low danger on... was it your first night? You think it was your first night.

Someone grabs your shoulder, and you yelp like a dog hit. Your horns are just super small promise there's no need to investigate any further please- oh wait it's Tegiri.

Tyzias stumbles slightly when you yelp and Stelsa does much the same, hand gripping onto you tighter before they see who it is as well.

"Tegiri you really think sneaking up right now is a good idea?" Tyzias snaps, facing forward again to continue moving. Without prompt Tegiri falls in line with you, and Stelsa places a hand on his shoulder as well, still holding up the rear.

"I didn't want to yell..." He says carefully, hand tight on his swords handle. It's not slung on his back like usual, hanging on his hip instead. Easier to draw. While Tegiri seems to have the coolest composer of your little group, you can see his hand shaking ever so slightly. You hope he doesn't have to draw it either.

"I'm fairly certain this is due to a sensitive information breach on the third floor"

"_Fifth_ floor is all the archives and shit, that doesn't make any sense Tegiri."

"I'm just reporting what I've heard. If they don't find what they've lost you know what will follow."

Stelsa leans down to you, filling in the question you didn't have to ask. "This is technically a soft lockdown... It's best if it stays that way." Wow! Terrifying!

The hallway, despite feeling so much smaller, takes an incredibly long time to exit. Instead of feeling the sweet relief of open space though, things somehow get worse.

The main common room of the courthouse is what one might call... fucking giant. You call it that at least, though you might have to rethink that soon. You failed to think of the sheer scale of the courthouse before, and are painfully brought to reality. No less than six hallways are connecting to this room, each as cramped as yours, with the common room already stuffed full.

At least you can count on everyone being reasonable and mindful of others and the extremely tense environment you say.

Tegiri snorts a short little laugh, but it lacks humor. You didn't think it was all that funny either. 

"Zizi, shouldn't we find Tagora and Tirona? This isn't a time to be apart" Stelsa says softly. With the dull roar of a thousand or so other trolls muttering, it's an honest to god miracle she can be head so clearly. Tyzias nods once, muttering about already being on it.

Hold on! You can help here! Tagora is #1 on your speed dial and Tirona always responds on Chitter when you ping her, you'll just get their locations-- or tell them yours-- there's a painting of a particularly intimidating dragon that will be the perfect landmark and-- and something's wrong. What the fuck. You had dug your palmhusk out of your hoodie, but instead of politely asking for your password your screen just flashes a blank, red screen. You tap at it several times, try to turn it off and on, but nothing changes.

Stelsa moves her hand from your shoulder to the top of your head, muttering something about policies. Cool. You didn't want to be helpful anyway.

"Tagora told me he had a lunch date today, it's been in his planner for over a week I doubt he hung around-- we should focus on Tirona." says Tegiri, scanning the crowd.

"Okay so she would be coming from economics, that's first floor-"

"Wait, Zizi, he got canceled on," Stelsa says suddenly, lighting up "He was sulky during yoga yesterday, so that means he's here right?"

"He... okay. That's good to know, thanks Stel. You're telling me about the yoga thing later. Okay, so Tagora's here and Tirona's coming from--" she gestures vaguely to one of the far hallways "He's with her for sure."

For sure?

"Yeah, for sure... better be at least."

You decide you're satisfied with that and join the lookout. The whole place looks like an angry Where's Waldo page but having a general idea helps. 20/20 friend vision, don't fail you now! Please! Dear fucking _god_, friend vision stay focused, none of these kids want to mingle right now just look for the two you already have.

A scuffle draws your attention near the middle of the room, and to your great anxiety, your ping pings. Kids can't seem to decide if they should give the two brawling space or give in to the itchy need to crowd a fight in school, but you see what you need to.

Tagora Gorjek is about to get his ass beat, and you alert everyone of that fact immediately in a panic.

There's a moment where no one does anything, either trying to see where you're wildly pointing to or trying to figure out what to do next-- and in that moment Tagora disappears below the crowd- along with troll causing trouble with a yelp. Wait-- that's not fair, Tagora is perfectly capable of causing trouble it could have been his fault. Wait, neither of them could be guilty, you don't really think anyone _needs_ a good reason to fight right now, it's just you know Tagora tries avoiding conflict best he can so--

"C'mon." Tegiri says, squeezing your hand once before dropping it to take the lead. Thank god you could have just gone on forever, it's good that he stopped you.

With Tegiri upfront now your little group forms an arrow, and worms through the crowd with relative ease. Relative in the sense none of you have to stop and get into your own fight.

Two moments later and you're struggling to keep up, a loud cry making each of your three friends speed up, dropping the worming act and start shoving through the mass of trolls to try and intercept. Two moments more you find yourself alone, unable to match their desperate kind of pace. Shit.

You send all the good vibes you can over to them and Tagora-- Tirona too you're fairly sure you saw her horns near the scuffle-- but you've got your own problems to handle right now. Namely, you're packed in a room with a 1000 or so terrified Alternians, and you've learned from experience things get bloody when these kids get scared. You need to find your friends ASAP.

Except it's never that easy is it? You can hear them, hear the scuffle get louder, but actually placing where it's coming from is so much harder now, the crowd rowdy and ever-shifting. Trying to follow the same basic direction isn't easy here, and you feel like things might end very poorly, very soon. You're scared. You feel kinda sick. You feel... You feel _really_ sick. You need out of here.

Did you forget or something? There are drones on high alert on every entrance and exit point dipshit, there will be no leaving.

You're just as trapped as everyone else, and very suddenly find yourself unable to breathe. God damn it. God _damn it_ you shouldn't have done anything today! You were feeling weird this morning and went out anyway, you're probably going to die again and take out a chunk of the courthouse with you-- _stupid_.

You stumble slightly, head-spinning, and as if on cue stumble right into a young man, knocking him down. Your bumbling tendencies just couldn't fucking help themselves apparently.

He makes a startled sort of yip when he hits the ground, but is back on his feet not a second later with a snarl. You sorta thought it'd be a drone, but this works too.

"Fucking _watch it!_" He spits, advancing on you.

You're sort of dealing with a lot here, and still feel like you might vomit soon, so you tell him so. It does little to deescalate the situation, and he grabs you by the front of your hoodie. Oh shit, he's actually sorta giant (for a teal you mean), your delicate bones might be in trouble.

The sight of another imminent fight is making the crowd nervous again, those who want to just ease through the lockdown spooked and those who are blood hungry crowding up. Both seem to be riling this kid up, and he throws you to the ground-- hard. 

Your ribs twinge, but you're tougher than that at least. No more broken bones for you god damn it! A firm kick to your chest is... well it's not fun, that's for sure, and it doesn't really help your resolve. Another hits you square in the diaphragm, knocking what little air you had out of you and making something shift oddly behind your skin.

You don't really know what to do_ but_ curl into a ball, but as soon as you do you realize your vital mistake. Kids fucking love kicking balls around, and with another good hit, you're skidding across the floor. You actually go farther than expected, trolls scrambling to clear your path on the linoleum, and end up cracking your head on the wall painfully.

Where the fuck _are_ you? You were headed to the middle of the hall when you first set off, how are you back near a wall? Did he just whole ass punt you across the room? Jesus.

You need to do something, he's approaching again, do something! What are your options even, come on! 

Scramble up the wall like Spiderman!

What the fuck, no! Straightening out hurts, the familiar ache of your ribs returning and a deep throb in your stomach blooming anew, yeah right. On your best day you probably couldn't have managed that.

Shove through the crowd and break for a door!

You thought you covered this already, drones at every entrance that aren't feeling alien friendly! Not to mention you'd never get through this crowd alone.

Both options are wrong, and you don't know what to do. You love the hell out of your friends at the courthouse, you think they're all brave and smart even if they're super stupid all the time-- Stelsa excluded-- but they aren't really here are they? They're off protecting their own right now, you can't hold it against them, even if you're about to be kicked to death.

He's right on you again, hoisting you up to be eye level and growling low in his chest. You'd rather not have your whole, confusing life flash before your eyes, so you keep them wide open on him, struggling an squirming in the group-- but you already know the outcome here. You're gonna die.

"_Hey!_" Someone shouts as your back gets slammed on the wall.

"Get out of the way- _move!"_ yells someone else, followed by a loud hiss that definitely didn't come from your current attacker. Do they mind? The other fight you could excuse, but three? No sir, you're still the main character!

Just as the grip on your neck gets a little too tight, the kid squeezing you is ripped back, and you're dropped hard. The hard courthouse floor greets your boney butt hard, but you're elated! No more strangulation for you!

Tagora Gorjek kneels into your view, pulling you up and holding either side of your head.

"Are you alright?!" he asks, checking over your busted-ass form with more worry than you've ever seen from him. Tirona stands just behind him, looking over you much the same. Figures, most misadventures with them don't get bloody. Speaking of...

Are _you_ okay, you ask. Blood runs from his nose freely, dribbling sickly over his mouth and down his throat-- it might not be all from his nose actually, there's way too much gathered around the mouth, holy shit--

He smiles at you, showing off just as bloody teeth, but you're consoled anyway. "I'm fine." He says as he takes your hand. Tirona grabs one wrist too, and together they hoist you up. She looks at you, battered and bruised, then to Tagora, bloody and frazzled. She puts a hand on your shoulder.

"Somehow, you look worse." She says, a definite statement of fact.

You can believe it.

A second later Tyzias is over you too, asking if you're hurt, with Stelsa and Tegiri hot on her heels, each needing to check on the delicate human too. Being fussed over like this is a little weird, but after the knee- ruining stomach-twisting panic that had previously gripped you, it's a welcome change. You whole-ass thought this might've been... well, not _it_, but _an_ it. Weird.

"Hey!"

The group shifts, attention moving back to the lone wolf who tried stomping in your chest. He doesn't look quite as big now, and you're not quite as little in your pack.

There's the word you've been missing. You only let the sweet realization linger a little while, shit to do and all, but it still feels pretty damn great. These assholes are a _pack_, and somehow-- they've accepted you in.

"Hey _what_?" Tirona spits, arms crossing in front of her chest. She and Tagora shift closer to you, the others stepping out to stand in front again. 

The kid snarls again and advances like he might actually be willing to go for a five on one fight, and the whole group braces for an impact that doesn't come. A new player just entered the board. 

"Reriin!" a young lady calls from the crowd, trying to struggle into the small clearing. The crowd, sensing quadrant bullshit about to go down, quickly parts to let her through. At least they have their priorities straight. Now open, she marches right up to the opposition and grabs a chunk of hair, yanking him down to meet her face.

It's a little hard to tell exactly what happens while you're still safely tucked behind your wall of teenage lawers, but it's not ripping his face off, and it doesn't seem to be at the other end of the scale at kissing-- but whatever she does it gets him to relax. His arms snake around her into a soft hug, and you can actually see your little group relax with him. 

"C'mon you big dummy, we were supposed to meet over by the west stairs..." she says quietly, and while you don't catch what he says back-- it has to be some sort of agreement. He straightens out, milder now with the girl holding his hand, and they make to work through the crowd.

"Keep your fucking diamond under control Lenlia, we're _all_ stressed." Your head whips to Tyzias, startled that out of everyone _she'd_ throw something like that, and the anxiety comes back full force when the girl actually stops and turns on her heel. 

"Watch it _Entykk" _she spits, lips curling up over her fangs. 

You've got to be kidding-- absolutely not-- you're not dealing with more of this. You firmly grab one of her jacket sleeves. Tyzias doesn't look away from the other teal, but she does sigh. After another moment of the standoff, she jerks her head, and the couple goes on their way. 

The crowd, with no longer a fight or romance to watch, closes the clearing in no time, but you're not quite as scared of it anymore. The collective shuffles back to the wall you'd previously been thrown against, claiming the spot. 

Tyzias moves to Tagora, mopping up some of the blood on his chin with her jacket sleeve. Stelsa and Tegiri murrmer quietly to one another, and Tirona starts trying to worm what exactly you did to piss the guy off out of you. You answer honestly: that he might just be stressed and nervous and you bumping into him freaked him the fuck out. Or he could just be an ass. Now not immediately in danger, you thank them.

"What?" Tirona and Tagora say in unison, and Tagora immediately gets hit in the arm for it. The rules of jynx are brutal, it doesn't matter if he already got whopped tonight. You clarify-- thanks for coming for you. You were really scared. 

An awkward beat passes.

"... Why wouldn't we sweetheart?" Stelsa finally says, confusion and concern evident. You don't have an easy answer, so you stay quiet. Tirona shifts so she's closer on your side, and you smile a little despite your embarrassment over the situation. _They_ haven't been pondering the nature of Alternian social groups all day, you made it weird. 

"... He is just an ass," Tagora says, looking sidelong at you "Just an FYI, I really think he would have had that sort of reaction had it been just a regular day."

Tegiri makes a face, pulled from his conversation. "Don't be rude, Reriin has a lot on his plate Tagora"

"Relationship drama doesn't count, he does it to himself."

"It counts when _you_ have to deal with it, you're being unfair." 

"Well _I_ heard him and Lenlia were broke up again not but a week ago," Tirona says, excited to get in on the conversation. "And there they were, perfectly pale again where _everyone _could see, even though Mizaki told me _they_ were together now. Seems pretty self-inflicted if you ask me." Tagora grins, his side bolstered, but the fight isn't over. Enter Tyzias:

"All three of you are forgetting just how much of a bitch Lenlia is, she's got her claws deep in him at this point."

"You're biased Zizi, Tyrrik told me she scored higher than you on the last economics project."

"That's because Tyrrik just wants to start shit Stels, they're not a viable source-"

"Oh but that casts doubt on you anyway Tizzy and you know it-" Tagora starts "Because I know for a _fact_ you only got a 94 on that. Plenty of room to best you-- not all that hard even-- _economics_, really--" 

"Tagora do you want me to break your nose the rest of the way?" 

The lockdown is still very much in place, everyone in the great hall still tense and jumpy, but you're feeling... You're feeling really good actually. Weirdly good. Your friends keep on bickering amongst themselves, cut with gossip here and there, still in a rough protective circle around you-- and you feel really, honestly good. 

The day had a rough start, a rough middle too, but situated cozily in your pack-- this feels like a pretty happy end. 

**Author's Note:**

> What's there to say really? I love these dipshits. Really and truly, love them. Big thanks once again to my beta reader, I couldn't have made this hot mess hot without you!


End file.
